E3 2009: Wii Sports Resort Hands-on

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Hey casuals: If anything's going to pry Wii Sports out of your system, it's this one.

By Craig Harris

For bad or good, a majority of Wii owners buy a system for one game: Wii Sports. That compilation of six motion controlled sports has been the reason (and the bane) of the system's success, and if my hands-on with its spiritual successor is any indication, those owners finally have a reason to push eject on their system.

We've already had a hands-on with Wii Sports Resort at last year's Electronic Entertainment Expo, but that was with a version that was only half-cooked. The version at E3 is pretty much all ready to go with a dozen games of all different styles of sports, and many of the designs have multiple options. If anything, Wii Sports Resort is far meatier than the original Wii Sports.

The game features the same simplistic visual style and presentation, with a menu system that makes it easy to jump in and out of each experience. The game selection screen is pointer controlled and offers an extra menu option to see and select the most popular game mode on the system, as well as offer a "Recommended" choice, but we're not sure how that comes into play.

The whole point of Wii Sports Resort is to demonstrate the wonderfully accurate Wii Motion Plus attachment, and it does this extremely well.

The first game mode we jumped into was the Sword Fighting mode that we loved last year. In this improved version, Casamassina got his rear end handed to him in a quick three point match against yours truly. The sword control is absolutely spot on, but it requires a calibration at the start of every bout: the game prompts gamers to click the A button, which means you're pointing directly at the screen and "resetting" the zero point of the Wii Motion Plus peripheral. But once calibrated it recognizes precise swipes in every conceivable direction, and the two player battle absolutely blows the pants off the Boxing fight in the original Wii Sports. There are different modes in this option, including a mode where you challenge another person to slash at objects at a specific direction, noted by an arrow overlay.

Then we jumped into Frisbee mode. We skipped the dog catch mode in favor of the full Frisbee Golf option. We love the Disc Mode in the upcoming Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2010, but it's clear that the version in Wii Sports Resort is much tighter with better disk handling and more attention paid to the physics of the throw. You can play a short three hole game or take part in a whole 18 hole course, with multiple courses available to take part in.

Archery was next, a really unique mode that takes a bit to get used to because it requires players to put the Wii Remote in their less dominant hand. After pointing the remote straight up, pushing the A button resets the Wii Motion Plus device to the zero point, and holding the Z trigger on the Nunchuk and pulling it back like a string on the bow brings up a tighter view of the target. You can move the Wii Remote up, down, left and right, and the aim adjusts with pinpoint precision in 3D space. It's not easy to land the arrow on the target as you have to keep your arm completely still and take into account wind speed and direction.

Table tennis is clearly Wii Sports Resort's version of Wii Sports Tennis, and it's just as fun and addictive in its smaller scale. Your character runs to the ball automatically, and you can forehand and backhand the ball with swings from the remote. It's true 1:1 control, and you will have to swing at the ball on the proper side of your body if you want to land the perfect shot. You can apply english to your shots for top spin...Wii Motion Plus is that accurate.

Remember the airplane demo when the Wii was first revealed back in 2006? It's back: Wii Sports Resort incorporates a mode where you can fly a plane all over the island of Wii Sports Resort in a sightseeing challenge. Just like in the original Airplane demo, you hold the Wii Remote like a paper airplane and twist to turn left and right in the air, tipping the remote up and down to raise and lower the nose to adjust altitude. It makes us want Pilotwings all that much more.

Wii Sports Resort also features two repeat performances from Wii Sports: Bowling and Golf. These games have been given the full Wii Motion Plus treatment. Bowling looks and plays just like the original, but you now have even more precision over your roll of the ball. The game also gives gamers complete access to the mini-games, including the 100-pin challenge without the need for unlocking it. There is a change: each throw is an attempt at knocking over all 100 pins, so you can end up with a 3000 score. Golf is beefier with more holes to play and a tighter way to swing your club for accurate drives and putts.

Wakeboarding is surprisingly fun as well: hold the Wii Remote in its classic orientation as you're pulled through the lagoon, swinging yourself back and forth along the boat's wake to gain air and perform tricks for points. It's fast and frantic, but the Wii Motion Plus gives players incredibly tight control over their position behind the boat.

Last year we saw and played the Jet Ski mode called "Power Cruising," and it's back in the final game. Hold the Nunchuk in one hand, the Wii Remote in the other, hold the A or B button to throttle up and steer the craft with tilts from both controllers as if you were holding the handle bars. To speed up, "rev" the Wii Remote and you'll get an extra jolt. The mode I played was a slalom course where you have to cruise under arches as a digital readout counts down. You earn the points on the readout as you drive underneath. Some arches have a second, smaller arch that rewards double the points.

Of course, the more games you have, the greater the odds for a dud. And in this case, it's cycling. You ride your bike around the island against 30 other cyclists, pedalling by thrusting the Wii Remote and Nunchuk up and down alternately. If you waggle too fast you'll wear out your character, but you'll also go faster if you draft behind other racers as well as get caught in a tailwind. Steering is handled through tilt of the Wii Remote. Did not like this mode all that much.

But the rest of the package is pretty top notch, and well worth the $50 price tag especially when you consider that it will include Wii Motion Plus in the box along with the game. Watch for a release in July.